1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a clutch assembly comprising a housing, driving and driven plates disposed within said housing and arranged to be relatively movable between engaged and released positions, and a mechanism for effecting such relative movement, the driving and driven plates being intended to operate in the presence of a liquid fluid such as oil for purposes of cooling and/or lubrication. Such a clutch assembly will hereafter be referred to as "a clutch assembly of the kind specified."
Various forms of clutch assembly of the kind specified have been proposed hitherto including systems arranged to circulate fluid through the clutch assembly when in use. In general, such previously proposed systems have depended on the splashing of oil within the housing by the rotating parts of the clutch, possibly assisted by the provision of some form of reservoir in the upper part of the housing into which oil is splashed and from which it flows under gravity to be distributed through the clutch assembly. However, such proposals have been dependent solely on splashing and gravitational flow, with the result that the circulation and distribution of the oil is not positively and reliably achieved under all conditions of operation.